Red, White & Royal Blue [2023] – Nicholas Galitzine, Taylor Zakhar Perez

Red, White & Royal Blue on Amazon Prime Video is a movie that I didn’t want to enjoy. But Taylor Zakhar Perez & Nicholas Galitzine surprised me. In many ways.

As an escapist romance that touches lightly on some meaningful themes, this hits the spot. There’s a good-natured charm to Red, White, & Royal Blue that makes it digestible in even the most ridiculous moments. Some of it was too unrealistic, it was laughable. Other moments were… missing a budget.

Some scenes were amazing, especially the sexual tension between the boys, their conversations, and their intimate moments. Other scenes lacked…sense. Or budget. The green screen was as prominent as the shortcuts taken. I get that it’s a tv movie, but I wish director Matthew López had a slightly bigger budget.

However, overall, I really didn’t mind the movie. And I’ll definitely watch it again. It’s an actual romantic comedy that doesn’t push it too hard and is not preaching to us hard like Bros.

As a middle-aged queer man, I rarely saw queer stories on tv that wasn’t about suffering or death. I’m happy to watch this sweet, at times poignant entry to the blossoming canon of queer rom coms.

Give us more like this movie and The Thing About Harry please and thank you.

Should You Watch It?

A story about a boy meets boy, Perez and Galitzine have a wonderful spark together. Plus, their spicy chemistry papers over any tonal inconsistencies in the storytelling, which ends up giving us a mostly satisfying rom com that lives up to the expectations.

Where Can I Watch It?

Stream Red, White & Royal Blue exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.